Yep. The Pimp Daddy Destro is a mighty rare action figure. Collector "completists" can go their entire "collecting lives" without acquiring one. In relation to the typical number of mass produced action figures (which is hundreds of thousands!)...the PDD is truly the "needle in the haystack". And as usual, rarity leads to increased value and desirability. There was a time when you could purchase this 3 3/4" tiny piece of plastic for less than...$1,000. Those were the days! And those days are LONG gone...
Value:
"LOOSE aka Not in original packaging":
On 7/21/2011....WOW...yet again a new price record set is set This time a record $6,801 for a loose, complete with all accessories AFA 90 graded Pimp Daddy Destro (eBay auction #203513605883, ended July 11, 2021). This was a very nice condition one to have achieved an AFA 90 grade. Looks like the interest in this unique figure continues to grow
And 04/10/2021, a new level has been set, showing interest in this rare G.I.Joe figure continues! On 4/10/2021, an authentic, loose, ungraded PDD sold for a $3,450 USD (Ebay auction # 143996434385) ! Wow! As far as I'm aware, it was a new high limit for a, loose, ungraded Pimp Daddy Destro. Back in 2016, the seller reached-out to me and asked if I could help him authenticate his PDD. I did, and it passed my tests for authenticity. And after the sale, the buyer reached-out to me as well. A big congratulations to the buyer & seller! PDD is such a marquee item to have in your collection.
Prior to the above sale, the last one I recorded was on April16, 2006, when a LOOSE & COMPLETE (action figure which has been removed from it's original packaging, and has all of it's weapons/accessories) Pimp Daddy Destro sold for $1,980 USD on Ebay. There had been even older sales on Ebay of Pimp Daddy Destros, which have sold for > $2,000 USD (but I lost that data).
Factoring-in the recent April 2021 sale, it seems the new expected average price of a LOOSE, AUTHNTIC PDD is approximately $3,500 USD. I'd speculate that an authentic, loose, COMPLETE PDD with it's original accessories might sell for atouch more. The real value of this LOOSE figure is the action figure itself, not the accessories. (And we know the accessories are the same as the later released & common 1997 regular Destro, with pink-launcher)
"Mint On Card (MOC) a.k.a Still Packaged/carded"
Mint on Card Pimp Daddy Destros are worth much more on the collector's market, than LOOSE PDDs, as would be expected. The reason behind this is that toys are generally made to be opened and played-with. Thus, the more vintage toys are typically opened versus kept in their packaging. Even with these 1997 releases (which were geared toward nostalgic collectors & fans of the 1980's G.I.Joe toy line), the more valuable are the sets still unopened & in their original packaging. Add to this, the fact that the PDD was cancelled and production stopped. It's be logical to assume, only a small percentage of the loose PDDs that were produced in this initial production test actually made it to the packaging stage.
Way back in 2006, I owned and sold a carded Pimp Daddy Destro via Ebay on 10/8/06. This was the last MOC PDD sale I documented on Ebay, and this MOC version sold for $1,700. As always, with these desirable pieces (and with any item) the PDD is ultimately valued at what the purchaser is wiling to pay to obtain one, the time of year it is sold, economic conditions, the amount of interest in the item, etc. The free market will ultimately decide the Pimp Daddy Destro's worth on any given day.
In 2004, the first CARDED Pimp Daddy Destro sold in a private sale for approx. $2,250 USD. This one was the first carded PDD widely known by the online collecting community. A few months after wards, in February and March of 2005, TWO more carded Pimp Daddy Destros emerged on Ebay (from the same seller). Both of these items sold above $2,000 USD.
With the sale of an authentic, loose, ungraded PDD selling for $3,450 and sale of an AFA90 graded loose/complete PDD selling for double that amount $6,801....I'd venture a reasonable estimation that a mint on card PDD would warrant at least $10,000.
Rarity:
It's hard to accurately put numbers on the Pimp Daddy Destro. Since this site was created in early 2000s, more have come to light as would be expected. What I have to go on is the word of the toy's creators at Hasbro and my research into the numbers known to be in collector's hands. As mentioned before, I've communicated with as many collectors as I know that have the PDD. I've asked them, in turn, to let me know of any ELSE who has or might have one, networking onward. But some collectors are private, and don't discuss what is or isn't in their collections. (Also, I can't presume that I know ALL of the G.I. Joe collectors who might have a PDD.)
At first, I documented this information as a personal record. As this is a pricey item, the exact information like names, etc. won't be posted on this site out of privacy concerns. Also, some people just aren't vocal & are private in what they have. What follows is the results of my efforts into documenting the numbers of "known" PDDs.
(I've heard of one or two other people who have tried to record the number of PDDs "out there". As this is a daunting and often unappreciated task, I'd imagine some have stopped over the years. If anyone has some info. to share, drop me a line. I'd love to discuss with you.)
LOOSE Pimp Daddy Destros: As of 7/2021
A conservative number, but still one that gives the benefit of the doubt, is 50 of these LOOSE Pimp Daddy Destros in collections. Again, this isn't as yet an exact science. Some of the info I've gathered, amount to the "he supposedly had X number, and sold them" or "this one was bought by Person A, then sold to Person B...and now Person F has it" type information. And people will of course sometimes want to remain private and not be known to have a PDD, which is entirely their right. So, these are the circumstances one has to factor-in when qualifying this number.
I'm a bit confused in using the AFA website population report. As of 4/17/21, it shows only 1 loose AFA graded Pimp Daddy Destro. But years ago, I checked the site and it showed 3 AFA graded LOOSE PDDs.(?) Perhaps they are updating the report?
Mint on Card Pimp Daddy Destros: As of 7/2021
I know of 11 of these carded PDDs known to be in collector's hands. I estimate the number to be approximately 25 or so total to exist. This is of course not an exact number, and can't be, but is an estimation based on my experience & knowledge. The first publicly known carded PDD was sold in 2004. Subsequently, three additional were brought to light through the Ebay auctions. The remaining eight have been sold and bought privately, outside of Ebay and the internet sales.
But again, these are educated estimates. And numbers of course will change if/when new information comes to light.
It's important to recognize too that there tends to be bubble damage on the lower bubble seal on most of the known carded PDDs. The damage is typically the "ungluing" of the plastic bubble in areas. This can appear as air-bubble "lifts" or pockets spotted along the seal, or entire sections of the glued bubble can be unglued. Why do so many of the carded PDDs show this characteristc? No reason is known. For some reason, there are wide ranging reports of the "ungluing" of the plastic bubble on many of the 1997 commemorative sets. This glue & bubble problem seems to be an issue with the 1997 sets, not just the carded PDDs.
As of 7/2021, I checked the AFA website population record and I see that there is 1 AFA graded MOC Cobra Command Team with PDD. I spoke with AFA at JoeFest about grading of carded PDDs, and advised them about the glue issues with he 1997 G.I. Joe releases. They mentioned that they thought that the graded MOC AFA PDD was directly from an internal Hasbro source (which would help explain the lack of bubble glue/detachment issues). I know a few have been submitted to AFA, but were refused a grade as a carded item (due to issues with the bubble's unglueing). Two of these were then removed from the bubble and graded as AFA loose PDDS (see above)
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